A CFL with output equivalent to a 200w incandescent bulb only draws about 50w, so you still come out ahead. Besides, I'm not suggesting that you replace your 100w ceiling lamps with a 200w-equivalent replacement, that would probably drive you out of the room. But you could jack it up to 125 and get what you want.
You might also try the solar spectrum lamps, perhaps the more natural spectrum would give you the feeling of more adequate lighting, in addition to helping you sleep better.
People, have some sense. Go ahead and HOARD UP LIGHTBULBS. What an obvious response to the meddling eco-freaks who deny us any freedom or choice. There ought to be a black market, speculation, whatever it takes to fight and push back.
And we have every right to BRIGHTEN UP our rooms, while we are "conserving" electricity. If the idea was to agree with the insane enviro-wackos and live in the dark or the dim, then why not just go to bed early when it gets dark, and have LARGE families and make babies at night freely like our ancestors used to enjoy doing, which means even more people alive using even more light bulbs in the near future?
It's hard to stay awake, reading or doing homework, without sufficient light. So if we are going to violate the night, and add light, add plenty of light.
I am using most every kind of light, and find they all have their pros and cons. Why can't things ever be simple anymore? One of the things I like about CFLs, is that they tend to be BRIGHTER. One can put a 100-watt equivalent in a 60 watt maximum fixture, because CFLs don't push out so much heat as incandescents. I had a nice 2 circular tube florescent reading light at one end of my living room, and was never long satisfied with it. It was to replace an ugly hanging fixture that came with my house. It worked for a while, but the tubes burned out, then the ballast apparently went bad. Replaced the fixture with an identical one, then the tubes wouldn't light. Got rid of it, and put in a nice 3-bulb fixture with CFLs, and been happy with it ever since. CFLs better solve bad ballasts issues, since the ballast is easily replacable by changing out the bulb. I changed out several fixtures, and put CFLs in most of them.
I tried those nifty LED bulbs, which are even better than CFLs, but LEDs have a couple of issues. One is, they aren't bright enough yet. 40-watt equivalent just isn't enough for many areas. And LEDs won't shut off properly, on those ever glowing lighted light switches. LEDs are TOO EFFICIENT. LEDs light up still, off of the tiny current leakage of glowing light switches. Must be because they only use 1 1/2 watts. So either I have to get rid of the LEDs, get rid of the nifty glowing light switches, or the LEDs will in fact shut down when "Off," if they share a fixture with at least 1 normal incandescent or CFL to accept the tiny current leakage.
But none of the more pricey, "more efficient" replacement lightbulbs, even meet their claim of energy savings, when placed in light fixtures which are rarely used anyway, so incandescents are just fine for such fixtures. There may also be issues with high humidity (i.e. bathrooms or outdoors or porch lights) and dimmer switches, which works better with incandescents.
I decided due to changing technology and for simplicity, I would not have any ceiling fans nor dimmer switches. Regardless, my favorite reading light, still has those 3-way lamp similar Low/Medium/High settings. How did I pull that off? When my Dad and I, my Dad used to do maintenance and electrical, put in the switch loop to replace the old ugly fixture that had a switch right on the fixture, I had the foresight to suggest using a 3-conductor wire, rather than a 2-conductor, since it would be as easy to run either one. I was thinking maybe a spare conductor for a later ceiling fan or something. I had the electrician changing out my fixtures and adding a fixture to brighten my home office, use the spare circuit, and 1 switch turns on 1 bulb of the fixture, and the other 2nd switch now turns on the other 2 bulbs. Low/Medium/Both means Low/Medium/High, just like a 3-way bulb in a lamp. So I can have some light in my living room, or I can sit under a bright spotlight effect, to easily read by. Without using a dimmer switch which most CFLs can't properly use.
